SonOfSwamp

Seems like an easy call to me. What's the HI going to do? Tell the customer to tear into the brick, pull out the lintel, paint it, and put it back? Clearly, the cure would be much worse than the disease. Why induce a failure (remove the lintel) when it'll rust away all by itself in 100 years or so? Paint the replacement, in 2107. WJ

Pardon my cynicism, but they don't give a rat's ass what little gifts an HI brings to them, unless it's, say, $20,000 in cash. They just want HIs to help them close their deals. No offense to RE agents, but getting rid of obstacles to closing (often via a "pablum" report) is what RE agents have to do to make a living. In my humble experience, any HI -- plain or fancy, good or evil -- who has to rely on RE agent referrals will have to learn how to suppress his gag reflex, and take the "job" that's given to him, if you know what I mean and I think you do. The only other option I know is for the HI to brand himself as the knowledgeable go-to guy who is always right, and can back up his findings via reputable sources. An HI can accomplish this branding via newsletters (targeted at RE agents), radio and TV appearances, and print media. As one might suspect, building a client base this way requires a skill set that's worlds apart from inspecting houses... WJid="blue">

I can't remember if my 93-year-old lintels are painted. I can tell you that the lintels are holding up just fine, even on the weather side of the house. That said, if I were building a new house, I'd prime and paint the lintels before I put them in place. WJid="blue">

Not, but it might cause a bellyache. In my humble experience, as soon as the talk about the discolored pipes simmers down, somebody will start up about discolored copper wires in the panel(s) and the conversation will turn X-filish. WJid="blue">

Folklore. WJid="blue"> Hey, don't I get some credit for at least thinking about it?? [] I don't think that the oxidation is from condensation. If it was condensation I would expect to see a splotchy pattern. Best thing you can say is "I do not know why it is that way", anything else is most like a WAG. Best I can recall, the whole "stray currents" thing came from an eccentric Florida sparky who wrote a long -- and to my mind nonsensical -- treatise about magical electricity and copper piping coming together to make color changes. It was all very X-Files. Later, the subject was debated (online) by all manner of fancy engineers and geniuses. The consensus, as I recall, was that discolored copper happens all the time, without electricity. Consider every old penny you ever pulled out of your pocket. WJid="blue">

Folklore. WJid="blue">

Suggestion: Insert a little advice telling people to install anti-scald valves. It's good advice anyhow, and if your customer does actually install the valve(s) the scalding liability is on the back of the valve manufacturer, not the shallow-pocket HI or plumber. WJ

Well, while we're on the subject: in the last few years that I was doing everyday HI work, I decided that virtually all of my repair recommendations, if implemented, would do more harm than good. We did a lot of new-house jobs, and we found that that most roofs needed some kind of fix. But the builder would just send the same puddinheads who screwed up the original job, so things only got worse. Same with the brick veneer, same with the concrete, same with the door hangs, the decks, the HVAC, the plumbing, etc. Seemed to me that new houses were literally going from bad to worse every time somebody touched the house with a tool. I felt that I had to temper each recommendation with a warning about automatic worsening. So, I just told the customers: I have to tell you to get these things fixed, but at the same time I know you won't get a good outcome. Wait 350 days into the 1-year "warranty," and then evaluate the situation. It's always something... WJ

Well, I guess you'll call an HVAC guy. Fine with me. I assumed that when you looked at the thing originally, you would've known a new motor if you saw one. If I were going to call anybody, it wouldn't be an HVAC guy. My experience with HVAC guys, and tradesfolk in general, is that when it comes to reliable information, they hit well below the Mendoza line. Manufacturers, on the other hand, make sure they're right before they start offering up answers. I have yet to encounter mfr folklore. Maybe you could call the mfr and get the info from the horse's mouth. WJ

That's a fairly common HI-writing style. I call it the "it's screwed up but it's all right" style. In one paragraph -- if not one sentence -- the writer engages in Orwellian doublethink and states that something is both excellent and wretched at the same time. Amazingly, people who write this way apparently think readers will take them seriously. Even dumb people aren't that dumb. WJ

The original poster said the unit is old. If it's old, and it's keeping the house cool, and nobody's complaining, I'd call that OK. It's the middle of June. If the thing weren't working OK, it would've been fixed by now. Re ungrounded receptacles: Last time I checked, NEC said they're OK, as long as they're two-slot receptacles. Pardon my saying so, but acting on an HI "gues" would do more harm than good. Why would anybody want to wrench on an old A/C unit that's working and keeping the house cool, based on a "gues?" What would the HI report? "I guess there's something wrong. Call an HVAC tech?" In my neck of the woods, that recommendation would cost somebody at least a couple hundred bucks, which is more than an old A/C condenser is worth. Speaking just for myself, I'd be perfectly comfortable telling an HVAC guy, a seller, a customer or anybody else that I'm in favor of leaving a working unit alone. Spend the service-call money on the next condenser. WJ

No offense to Bob, but that's why I've pretty much given up on the Carson Dunlop materials. There's no information in that paragraph that you can take to the bank. It's just a bunch of vague, negative comments without anything specific. Kind of like a lot of home inspection reports. It is frowned upon by some insurance companies and lending institutions id="green"> Which lending institutions? Which insurance companies? What does, "frowned upon," mean anyway? Will they not insure or loan on these houses? Will they charge more to do so? Is this a Canadian thing or does it extend to the US? due to its combustabilityid="green"> Is it very combustible? Should this be something that a home inspector should warn his customers about? Is it more combustible than asphalt roofing or cedar siding or hardboard siding? If combustibility is a real issue, shouldn't that be what the paragraph is about instead of leading with "frowning"? and the fact it denotes low quality construction to some.id="green"> So, "lending institutions" and "insurance companies" "frown" on it because it denotes "low quality construction to some" (among other problem, it seems). Does this ring anyone else’s bullshit meter? Insulbrick can be considered the forerunner to aluminum sidingid="green"> Really? In what way? and is hard to repair since it is no longer made.id="green"> So it's just hard to repair? Does that mean that it can be repaired? It seems to me that the fact that it's no longer made would make it impossible to repair. It is however easy to cover. id="green"> But is it advisable to cover it? - Jim Katen, Oregon Funny how much the CD-attributed text reads like a supermarket tabloid. There's nothing attributed to a legit source, there's just fabricated semi-plausible disinformation aimed at gullible readers. We need a Snopeslike site for HI bullshift. Maybe I'll set that up, and charge 10 bucks a lick to destroy the bullshift. I could probably retire in about a year... WJ

My humble opinion: For indoor work, get a Streamlight rechargeable flashight. I've got one that's worked fine for over 10 years. Buy cheap ($20) rechargeables for crawl spaces. Any decent digital camera will do. (Disclosure: I hardly ever used a pic in a report. I used words. But that's just me.) We used no-pin Tramex Moisture Encounter meters ($300) for inside. We used a Delmhorst with pins (about $250) for outside & crawl space stuff. Speaking just for myself, I wouldn't go near a CO detector. I would not trust portable gas-testing equipment for life safety issues.I just wrote in every report: Install CO detector(s) per the manfucturer's instructions. Let First Alert or Nighthawk shoulder the liability for CO. Plus, CO detectors work 24/7, long after the HI is gone. The CO-detector recommendation will likely save more lives than a one-time CO check with a hand-held gizmo. IMHO, the SureTest is overkill. Few HIs, and even fewer electricians, understand the readouts, particularly voltage drop. SureTesting leads to endless arguments. Buy a cheap 3-light tester, and spend the $300 on a Little Giant ladder. If you can type and compose on the fly, get a decent laptop, so you can at least start your reports while you're still at the house. WJ

I'm with brother Katen. If an old A/C unit is keeping the house cool, leave it alone. If the thing were engineered all wrong, somebody would have said something by now. My Carrier unit is into its 23rd successful cooling season. I'm afraid to even eyeball it, let alone put a wrench on it. WJ

Anybody want to change the heading to "flexible," just for spelling's sake? WJ

Pardon my jumping in, but you could save a tree by editing the text down to this: B4U Close Home Inspections does not research or report on product recalls. For information about product recalls, check the Consumer Products Safety Commision's website at: www.cpsc.gov No real need for all that stuff in the middle... WJ

Looks like E Nashville. Also, from the pic, it looks like somebody forgot to to flash that roof/wall joint. FWIW, my 1914 house has a mix of wavy original glass and modern glass, which replaced broken panes. That's fairly typical of turn-of-the-century houses. Finally, I think old-house folk might call those windows not only "Queen Anne" but also 17-over-ones." I have heard that window glass "sags" over time and gets thicker at the bottom. I don't have a source for that, though. WJ

Windows like that are pretty common here in town. A lot of people call them "Queen Anne" windows, because one often sees them on Queen Anne houses. The house in the picture is what some people call a "Princess Anne," because it's not big and fancy enough to be called a Queen Anne. My former boss, and founder of Old-House Journal, Clem Labine, shot steam out of his ears every time he heard the term, "Princess Anne." I'm pretty sure that's not blown glass. It's just late 1800s glass. Don't believe everything you hear in Spring Hill. Did you see any "bullseyes" in the glass? WJ

Some years back, I just started telling customers the truth: In all my years of HI work, I'd never found a post-inspection repair done right. Sure, I'd come out and take a look, but it would cost them half the cost of a full inspection. I also told my customers this (whether the real estate lady liked it or not): "Don't ask the seller to fix anything. Hire your own guys to fix anything that you want fixed, after you close. If you can get the seller to pay for the repairs, fine. If you can't, it's worth whatever you pay to have some control over who does the repairs, and how they do the repairs." WJ

I get it, and no offense taken. Yes, I have warned consumers about "buckethead" and "suckup" HIs. Recently, with the newish TN HI law, I've referred often to the "army of cheap, dumb and compliant" HIs custom-made for the use of the HI lobby. For folks who aren't familiar with my work, I've written a column for Nashville's alternative newsweekly for about 12 years. The column, which is a general interest/humor column, often included info about homeowning, homebuying, building, renovation, life at my house, etc. The column also made my HI career very different from most. Over time, loyal column readers became a loyal upscale customer base for my HI company. This allowed me to see the HI biz from the perspective of an HI who could go straight to the customers, and bypass RE agents altogether. HI work looks like a whole different profession when you cut out the middleman and let go of the RE agent teat at the same time. About a year ago, I literally handed off my company to my good friend and co-inspector of 14 years. He does all the HI work now. These days, I'm working on a few book projects, and I do a little litigation support. Anybody who's interested in the column can just Google "Walter Jowers" and find way more stuff than anybody would want to read in one sitting. WJ

Truly. I've hurt the feelings of many a grown man over on the ASHI board by pointing out that bad HI writing comes from the lack of attention some folks paid to reading and writing around the eighth grade. Sleep through eighth-grade English, and it's dang hard to make up the class in middle age. A person who can't/won't read is a person who not only won't be able to write well, it's a person who'll never learn to apply logic or reason. It's a person who'll never be able to use the written word to persuade anybody. Those are problems that no professional person would want. Not to be harsh, but IMHO the failure of some folks to learn how to read and write back in junior high is the main source of HI gobbledegook writing and HI folklore. Nothing in, garbage out... Worst thing is, there's probably no way to "fix" a middle-aged adult who can't write well. That leaves a few thousand HIs stuck with checkboxes as their main form of communication. WJ

I don't do house inspections these days (unless it's for litigation support) but in case anybody's interested, here's how I got reports done up until about a year ago. I worked with a partner. I did that because I was working too long and too hard, and had no fun at all. Hardly ever got to talk to my wife and daughter. So I cut my salary by half, and hired co-inspector Rick. Best thing I ever did. Anyhow, on the job, after we'd both walked around and through the house twice, I'd sit down at the kitchen table, fire up the laptop, and start writing what I knew. As I was doing this, Rick was opening and closing windows and doors, checking for leaky faucets, aberrations, etc. On the pages of a little Pocket Docket pad, he wrote his observations in shorthand (for instance, yellow bath sink drain AFU), then dropped the pages on the kitchen table, next to the laptop. As I wrote the report, I mentally created a "highlight reel" in my head. Soon, I would deliver this highlight reel to my customers. About 90 minutes into the job, the customer(s) would show up, because that's what I asked them to do. They would join me at the kitchen table. About this time, co-inspector Rick would go in the crawl space. As Rick was crawling, I'd deliver my highlight reel speech to the customers, right there at the kitchen table. After Rick emerged from the crawl space, he'd tell the customers what he'd found in there. As he was talking, I'd record his observations in the report. Then, Rick would sit down at the laptop, and print out copies of the report. I would take the customers on a little walk around the house, and show them the things they wanted to know about. As soon as I finished with that brief "walk & talk," Rick would hand each party his/her copy of the report. The whole thing took about two hours. Two people can work more than twice as fast as one guy. WJ

I was born SonOfSwamp. Took me a while to work my way up to rabbit skinner. That title comes from the true story of me trying to get a job in a rabbit-processing plant. Long story short, I was overqualified, and they turned me down. WJ A man who could not get a job skinning rabbits.

Brother Katen wrote: Yes, Walter recommends the "Chicago Manual of Style" (not nearly as entertaining as Strunk & White in my opinion) and James Kilpatrick's "The Writer's Art." I've never read that book, but I used to read the newspaper columns that the book comprises. Kilpatrick's good. - Jim Katen, Oregon I say: I amend my comments on the CMS. It's pretty much necessary for newspaper writers (which includes me), but not so useful for HIs. Strunk is better. "The Writer's Art," however, is the best book of its kind, IMHO. Educational, and a great read. WJ